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Oklahoma football: Damien Williams' potential is unlimited

His junior-college coach says running back has deceptive speed, and will flourish if he gets more carries.

BY STEPHANIE KUZYDYM •
Published: September 11, 2012

NORMAN — One cut is all Damien Williams gets. No dancing in the hole.

One cut and go.

Tom Minnick still sees Williams doing that in the new film he's watched of his former player. The Arizona Western College coach watched Williams break away on runs many times during his two years at the junior college in the desert.

Damien Williams (26) leaps to the end zone for a touchdown in the first half during the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and Florida A&M Rattlers at Gaylord Familyâ€”Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman

He's never seen Williams get caught.

“He just has a speed that is deceptive,” Minnick said.

Williams was recruited by Oklahoma to help at running back. He was supposed to be the supplement to last year's star, Dominique Whaley.

Instead, Williams turned into the standout. He's this year's version of Whaley, and he's turning heads by breaking big runs on a small number of carries and, after two games in an OU uniform, leading the nation in yards per carry.

And the thing is, Minnick said, he's even greater than most people in Oklahoma believe.

Minnick knows what Williams is capable of bringing to the Sooners. He and his coaching staff laugh at the small amount of carries they've seen on the final stat sheet.

Ten carries?

“If he can get the ball 20, 25 times he's going to make Oklahoma better, because now they have the quarterback that can throw on play action and a running back that can carry the load,” Minnick said. “He got the ball 45-50 times here in one game, so I know he can do it.”

The truth is, Oklahoma doesn't really yet know what it has in Damien Williams. That's not because the Sooners aren't looking, it's because they've only spent two months around Williams, running backs coach Cale Gundy said.